my retired number collection - they're number 1!

this is the third post in a series that shares the cards i have in my retired number mini-collection. you can find the links to the previous posts down at the bottom of this post. if you're eager to learn more right now, you can check out the full list of retired numbers along with what this collection will entail over at my want list site.

without further ado, here are eight of the nine people for whom the number 1 has been retired:

1 billy meyer (retired by the pirates in 1954) - 1983 topps '52 reprint

i was not familiar with meyer, but when i found out his number had been retired i figured he must have led the pirates to a world series title, but he did not. he had a successful minor league managerial career before getting the pirates' job for the 1948 season. he was named the manager of the year for his efforts during that campaign. leading the pirates to a 21-win improvement over their 1947 season, although that was only good enough for a fourth place finish. that was as good as it got for meyer, and he resigned after a very bad 1952 season. he stayed with the club as a scout and "troubleshooter", and the team retired his number in 1954, a year before his death. there is not a lot of information surrounding the number retirement, but it is a huge display of respect, so he must have served the club in a meaningful way. 

1 fred hutchinson (retired by the reds in 1964) - 1964 topps

hutchinson was a fairly successful pitcher for the tigers before becoming a manager - first in detroit and then in st. louis with the cardinals. he took over the reds during the 1959 season and led them to the world series in 1961. it was their first pennant since 1940, but they lost the fall classic to the yankees. hutchinson stayed on as manager for the next three years even though he was diagnosed with cancer after the 1963 season. he was ultimately unable to complete the 1964 season, taking leave in august and resigning his post in october, just a few weeks before he passed away. 

he is the inspiration and namesake for the annual hutch award, given to the active player who best exemplifies his fighting spirit. the award has been dormant for a couple of seasons, but will hopefully be resurrected this year. my understanding is that his number was officially retired by the team in 1965, although nobody wore it after his resignation from the club the year prior. i will have more to say about the reds' retired number history in a few posts, but hutchinson's number is officially recognized as the first to be retired by the reds.

1 richie ashburn (retired by the phillies in 1979) - 2001 topps tribute

here we have the first appearance by 2001 topps tribute in the collection. i love this set as it focuses on retired numbers, and it was the first tribute set issued by topps. i eventually completed it a few years ago, and i wish topps would put out a follow up set to cover the players and managers that they missed the first time around.

as for ashburn, he was voted in to the hall of fame by the veteran's committee in 1995 following a 15 year career (12 with the phillies) that resulted in over 2500 hits, two national league batting titles and a .308 lifetime batting average. after his retirement, he spent 35 years as a broadcaster with the club. his number was retired on august 24, 1979 as part of his enshrinement in the team's hall of fame. jose cardenal was the last phillie to wear number 1, having worn it until he was sent to the mets three weeks before it was retired.

1 pee wee reese (retired by the dodgers in 1984) - 2001 topps archives

here's the first card in this post where you can see the uniform number that is the subject of the post, and you can see it twice! the dodgers retired reese's number on july 1, 1984 following his election to the hall of fame. reese spent his entire career with the dodgers and was a 10-time all-star who lost three years of his career to military service during world war ii. he finished his career with 2,170 hits, over 1,300 runs scored and 1,210 walks. reese received mvp votes in 13 of his 16 seasons, although he only finished in the top 5 once.

i associate reese with number 1, although i remember derrel thomas and gary weiss both wearing it for the dodgers during my youth. weiss, who wore it in 1980 and 1981, is the last dodger to don the number.

1 billy martin (retired by the yankees in 1986) - 2021 topps x sports illustrated

the yankees retired martin's number 1 on august 10, 1986 after he had completed his fourth stint as the team's manager. while he also played for the yankees in the 1950's, he is best remembered as their on-again off-again manager during george steinbrenner's early reign. martin took over managerial duties during the 1975 season, and in his first full season, guided the team to their first pennant in 11 years. he repeated that feat the next year in 1977, and this time led them to their first world series title since 1962.

martin was fired during the 1978 season, and his replacement (bob lemon) led the team to the world series title. lemon was out partway through the 1979 season, however, and martin was brought back, but the team finished in fourth place in the nl east. after four seasons managing the oakland a's, martin returned to the yankees for the 1983 season. he was fired at the end of the year but then brought back early in the 1985 campaign. after being fired once again, the team retired his number, although they later brought him back to manage once again to start the 1988 season. he made it through 68 games before being fired again.

as far as yankee managers go, he has fewer pennants and world series championships to his name than ralph houk and the same number as bob lemon, neither of whom have their numbers retired. then again, they didn't have martin's personality.

i was really happy to find that card, by the way, as it shows the number which is only worn on the backs of yankee uniforms. obviously, martin was the last to wear the number for the team, but bobby murcer was the last to wear it as a player. 

1 bobby doer (retired by the red sox in 1988) - 2003 topps retired signature

doerr was elected to the hall of fame in 1986, but the red sox didn't retire his number until may 21, 1988. it was last worn by chico walker who saw limited action with the club in the early 1980s. doerr spent the entirety of his 14 season career with the red sox, which ended perhaps a bit prematurely due to a back injury. he was a nine-time all-star, hit over .400 in the 1946 world series, and amassed just over 2,000 hits and 1,200 rbi.

the 2003 topps retired signature card i chose shows just a bit of his number 1 on the back.

1 ozzie smith (retired by the cardinals in 1996) - 1996 donruss press proof

smith's number 1, clearly visible in this parallel that was languishing in one of my monster boxes, was retired by the cardinals on september 28, 1996 - the day before smith played in the final game of his career. while he is best known for his glove (he won 13 gold gloves - 11 with st. louis) he also recorded over 2,400 hits and 580 stolen bases during his career. he also hit a big home run in the 1985 nlcs.

he was the last cardinal to wear number 1, and was elected in to the hall of fame in 2002 on his first ballot.

1 lou whitaker (retired by the tigers in 2022) - 1990 score

it may be a bit weird to have a junk wax era base card in this collection, but this card shows off whitaker's number 1 pretty well so here we are. while not (yet) in the hall of fame, whitaker had his number retired by the tigers on august 6, 2022. he played 19 seasons for the tigers and was a five-time all-star who won four gold gloves and three silver slugger awards.

he was the 1978 american league rookie of the year, so i've always had a soft spot for whitaker as that was the first full season that i followed baseball. he is considered by many to be a borderline hall of fame candidate, and i fall on the "in" side of that line.

i mentioned up top that there was a ninth person for whom this number has been retired. that would be bud selig who had a number retired by the brewers in 2015 following his run as the baseball commissioner which began after he abdicated his role as the brewers' owner. no conflict of interest there, because the commissioner has always been more aligned with ownership than the players. anyway, selig didn't wear a uniform, so i don't have him in this collection although i will include him in the tally below as a hall of famer (which is a shame in my opinion).

i am going to track a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (shown in chronological order of their first number retirement):

yankees - 1, 4

giants - 4

pirates - 1, 4

guardians 

red sox - 1, 4

phillies - 1

cardinals - 1

reds - 1

braves

astros

mets

orioles - 4

dodgers - 1, 4

twins

white sox - 4

brewers - 1, 4

tigers - 1

cubs

royals

padres

athletics

angels

expos

rangers

major league baseball

rays

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners

retired number frequency:

1 - retired by 9 teams

4 - retired by 8 teams

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 25

running total of non-hall of famers (including those without numbers): 4